The total volume of the tank is 2.15g - however only roughly half of this will be water. Ill have 1.07g of water. I calculated this using the "golden ratio" as is suggested on Hydrophyte's blog for riparia (http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=455)

Substrate/Layout/Background

This will be a riparium. It will have a background similar to a vivarium however to give it a more natural look. This will be constructed of black "Pond" GS (great stuff) covered in 100% silicone and then covered again in "EcoEarth". Some small vines may be created using rope, silicone and GS in the same method.

The main feature will be manzanita twigs that are all bunched together to look like roots. These will be attached together (nearest to one point as possible) from the top of the enclosure, and they will extend underwater minimally if at all. This idea is from Devin (Hydrophyte)'s "Drop in Manzanita Features". This shows a much larger feature in action: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=171191

Underneath so that appears as if it is supporting the manzanita "roots" will be either seriyu stone or lace rock broken into small rubble pieces. The same will border the bottom of the background - so that the whole thing gets the feel of a bank where water meets the land.

Not sure what to use for substrate...I am considering a couple different things.

1-2mm Grain Size Aragonite - I know what you are thinking...but I have a weird Idea in my head. (Ive decided to go with the aragonite - unless someone can think of a reason why it would cause severe detriment.)

This is where this gets weird. My plan is to buy two things.

One is a small (about 4" long x 2" wide) small naturally colored/looking barnical replica. This will be cut in half.

The other purchase is a fake, white branching coral that measures about 7"x7" at its tallest and widest point. Several small 1-3" pieces will be cut off of this. Their bottoms will be weighted so that they can sit in a natural looking position.

I know you are thinking I am crazy, but I saw these two things in the store (and I am a reefer, a planted tank guy, and a biologist - trust me, the non natural stuff drives me crazy) and I just had to have them.

I had an idea in my head that just made sense - not sure if it will look good or not, but I have spent some time diving in mangrove estuaries/swamps and I think with the plants and those decorations I can recreate that sort of environment.

The manzanita will have spanish and jungle mosses growing on it, and possibly a small orchid or two.

Filtration

Dont really know yet - Some options might be:

This wouldnt be attached to the back glass as they suggest. It would be hidden behind the drop in mazanita feature, with rocks around the base of it. The outflow would face towards the back of the tank. Probably my second favorite option. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...5&pcatid=12085

My favorite option is this. These things come with a small prefilter, and other than an airline running into the tank (easily concealed in the background/behind the drop in manzinita feature) there is nothing in the tank. The outflow would come in through a hole drilled in the lid of the tank - and it would be build into the background to look like a small "tricklefall" http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1&pcatid=24981 (I have decided to go with this option)

Here are some pics - not the best just from my cell phone and definitely dont do it justice. Im thinking about doing one small sparkling gourami in here...they are air breathers, I do regular h2o changes, and the water temp is high enough.

Going to add some anubias nana petite, some pygmy crypts, some moss (spanish and tree most likely) and maybe another epiphytic plant growing on the wood.

Thanks! Not exactly what I had in mind when I started, but I like the end result. Like I said earlier, there is still work to be done!

You are probably right. These gouramis are tiny though, less than an inch. Water quality is fine though, and as air breathers volume doesnt matter so much. I will try it out and if it doesnt work they can go to a bigger tank easily.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AwkwardShrimp

what type of light did you decide to go with?

Anti climatic here - just an 18w spiral CFL.

Think that is too much light? I had my doubts, but I just had it around.

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